


How Did You Win?

by antwritesfiction



Category: MCU, Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Bit of irondad, Character Death Fix, Endgame fix it, Final Battle, Fix-It, Tony centric, and ironfam, angst but not really, basicially what if the avengers pulled a guardians of galaxy move
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-03
Updated: 2019-05-03
Packaged: 2020-02-16 16:47:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18695440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/antwritesfiction/pseuds/antwritesfiction
Summary: "...Tony had a ridiculous thought, the most ridiculous of all the thoughts that have ever crossed his mind, that maybe — just maybe -they can do this."Basicially the Endgame final battle but the Avengers get their shit together and pull the move from the end of Guardians of the Galaxy movie.





	How Did You Win?

Mad Titan was faced with his own naivety, and he could feel the bitterness of it spread around his body. The realization of his failure washing over him brought pain in its tide. The pain of a messiah who is unable to bring salvation to his arrogant children. And he realized what he got in return for taking on the burden of a martyr — all around him blasphemy instead of gratitude.  
How disappointing.  
And so, as the golden portals spewed this planet’s defenders onto the ash-filled battlefield Thanos decided. He was going to learn from his mistakes. He was going to never again allow himself to be naive. He was going to make them pay and leave nothing in the hands of fate. He was the fate. And he was inevitable.

In the overwhelming noise of battle Tony might have as well been deaf. The thud of hundreds of feet on uneven ground, the rumbling of the engines in the sky (or was it a thunder?), the screams of fervour, vengeance, fear and pain, the growl of creatures not made for this planet, the feverish voices cutting through the static of the coms, blasts of his own repulsors, the explosions far on the left, close on the right, twenty feet in front of him and- he curled up, covering his face (something of which his damaged suit was no longer capable of) as dirt and rubble hit him in the back. He welcomed the ringing in his ears with indifference as he began to pick himself up off the ground. He couldn’t relay on his hearing anyway.

What Tony could relay on was his eyes. He rubbed at them, chasing away water that blurred his vision. He wondered if something got into his eye or if it was his body giving in to exhaustion, “Or maybe — he thought — that’s what disobeying your own fear does to you”.  
Tony started tracing his way back to where Thanos threw him in the air with force that only an angered titan can posses. The grey dust dancing around him was an unexpected enemy, making his way up his nose and down his throat. Covering his hair as if adding years to his appearance could stop him from pushing forward. Finally, it settled enough for Tony to see three figures, silhouettes barely, struggling in a fight. The god, the soldier and the Mad Titan, three of them mighty and determined, testing the strength and maybe more so the will of the opponent.

For a second Tony stood mesmerized by the forceful grace of the encounter.  
And in the next second he watched his teammates loose as the massive figure scattered them on the hard ground. The ultimate display of wrath from a Titan who thought himself a saviour. At that moment Tony understood how deeply rooted Thanos’s obsession was and how insulting it was to him that they dared to ruin his grand vision. He understood he has to do everything he can and everything he can’t do to stop him. Whatever it takes.  
His knees went weak as if they were pleading him to not step towards the danger, as if telling him that he can’t win where the god and soldier failed, “you’re just a man in a can”.  
But hell they could take away his suit of armour and all his tricks, and he would still be right there, defending, with all the strength he can muster from his strained muscles.  
He felt determination rise in his heart. His mind started racing looking for solutions, weak spots, ways to buy him some more time, few more precious minutes.

He took a deep breath and steadied himself but before he fired his repulsors his eyes met another pair of eyes.  
The eyes were green, sad and knowing. They expressed sorrow but didn’t apologize — “There is no other way” they were saying. And again Tony understood. There were no solutions, no weak spots, no time left to buy. There was only sacrifice play.

He thought about Natasha, to whom he owed to try. He thought about Pepper somewhere in the dark sky above him, fighting, doing the same thing she always wanted to protect him from. He thought about Rhodey who has been with him through thick and thin. He thought about Peter, the kid that just wanted to do what’s right, the kid who made him believe in heroes again, the kid whom he had to feel fall apart in his arms and whom he had just got back. He thought about Morgan and her little hands wrapping around him when he was leaving. “It’s not a goodbye, just a see you soon” he said caressing her little but oh so serious face. At that moment, looking into her deep brown eyes as if they were a mirror, he pledged to the universe he would defend her every breath with everything he had left.  
This was the time to prove it.  
And so he threw himself at the Titan.

It only took a second for him to get a hold of the stones, his nano suit obeying his will, morphing around them and pulling them out of the glove and into his armour.  
When the huge fist slammed him in the chest throwing him back to the ground he allowed himself to smile through the pain. Thanos lost right there and then.  
Maybe if he wasn’t fuelled by adrenaline and upcoming glory of sure victory he would notice that the surge of power suddenly left his body but Thanos let his naivety take the best of him once again. His arrogance blinded his senses.  
“I am inevitable”  
And then he wasn’t.

Tony raised his hand as the first shock of ancient force started consuming his body. It felt as if he was being ripped apart from the inside. His heart was beating against his ribs wanting to break free, yet his blood froze inside his veins, stopping its flow. The pressure build up in his body made it hard to think or breath or stand upright. Tony knew he had to act before the violent stream of power consumes him. He brought his fingers together.

He was still looking for his final words when slim fingers slipped into Tony’s left hand.  
-You’re alright, Mr. Stark  
Tony’s heart beating so intensely suddenly stopped, skipping a beat at the sound of the innocent voice. “No no no no” his already overwhelmed mind spinned “Not you” he thought to himself as he turned his head towards the familiar face.  
Peter’s frame was strained, Tony saw tears rolling down his cheeks, revealing pale skin under a layer of dirt and ash. Bright light travelling from their connected hands all the way up to his eyes. His grip on Tony’s hand was getting tighter with every second as the boy was fighting to keep his balance. Damned was the loyalty of this kid, damned was his pure heart, he too was about to become nothing but a memory.

But Peter was smiling.

That smile wasn’t scared, it wasn’t painful, it was comforting. There was nothing mournful about that smile, it belonged to the living. And Tony had a ridiculous thought, the most ridiculous of all the thoughts that have ever crossed his mind, that maybe — just maybe -they can do this.

He registered urging cries somewhere around him as he allowed himself to feel one last surge of love for this kid. His kid.  
“Wait!” — a strong arm wrapped around the wrist of his right hand. The shout brought him out of his mind and onto the battlefield. There was a great stir happening everywhere. People were rushing towards them.  
“There’s a way” — said Steve Rogers, this time through gritted teeth, clinging to Tony’s arm. His enhanced body now glowing with colours. Somewhere near the armoured avenger could hear Peter Quill’s voice and surprisingly loud commands coming from the little body of the speaking raccoon. And again the thud of hundreds of feet on uneven ground, this time rushing towards him.  
He felt Peter falter next to him, but before the boy met the ground an arm wrapped around him protectively. “Tony, hold on, just hold on, honey” — Peppers voice barely got through to him, but it did get through, and he did — he held onto Peter and Steve as he felt the turmoil of energy dance between them.  
He saw Pepper link hands with Rhodey and Steve link hands with Bucky, old comrades reunited once again. He watched as Bruce’s new-found physique took in a huge wave of the raging power from Rhodey just to pass it on to Thor whose eyes lit up as it ate at his celestial body. He saw Sam grab Bucky’s hand and reach with the other one for Clint and Wanda. He saw Strange coordinate his sorcerers into a protective wall of people, their backs turned from the quickly forming circle, their focus on the alien creatures trying to get past them. He saw Scott and a woman, who must have been Hope Van Dyne, back in their human size, close to one another, joining the struggle against the primal force of the stones. He saw Carol Danvers closing another gap in this chain of hands by interlocking fingers with the warrior who just dismantled her flying horse. He saw Nebula and Gamora run towards them, their hands already linked as if all they had left in this universe was one another. He saw Groot spread his branches pulling the rest of the Guardians, his family, towards him, strong and protective. He saw king T’Challa and a girl with brave eyes at his side, their backs proud and up straight even when the stream of violent light entered their veins. As far as his eyes could reach, from every corner of the battlefield there were groups of people marching forward in his direction, holding each other with weary but strong hands. Pushed by the idea that sprouted from a boy who just wanted to be there for his mentor. United by his refusal to just accept the reality.

And every time someone’s fingers touched the ones stretched out in their direction the energy ravaging Tony’s body seemed to slowly but surely find its estuary.  
His mind cleared as last of the fighters made the circle come to a close. He lifted his head and looked around at the faces surrounding him. Each of those faces have seen things that not many would believe and have lost things only a few would understand, but no matter how heavy their shoulders were with guilt and pain they stood here now as sure of themselves as never before. Their eyes sparkling in the mystical light, filled with wonder and this special, hesitant kind of hope.  
And in the middle of this circle stood the Mad Titan. Furious yet completely dumbstruck, separated from his army and his precious stones.  
The ridiculous thought he had when Peter first grabbed his hand, sneaked back into Tony’s mind, except this time there was no maybe — he knew they could do this.

“We — his dark determined eyes met Steve’s bright blue ones — are the Avengers”

He snapped his fingers.

 

***

 

That night he thinks about the hands that lifted him off the ground.  
He thinks about the voices, blending into each other “We won, Mr. Stark, you did it, sir, you did it” “Tony? Look at me, we’re alright” “Oh god, we did it” “Are you okay?” “It’s all done” “Tony? Did you try?” “Yeah, I know” “Someone has to clean up this mess” “Guys?” “He’s gone” “Guys! Look-” “Nat? Nat! Oh my god how the hell-”  
He thinks about people who could barely stand on their feet refusing to rest until they checked if everyone is okay.  
He thinks about the pride he saw in each pair of tired eyes he looked into and about the laughter that followed hours after the threat was gone because they just couldn’t quite believe it straight away.  
He thinks about how big the universe is and how extraordinary it is that this group of remarkable people found each other.  
So when late in the night Morgan brings her sleepy head up from his chest, looks him in the eye and asks:  
“How did you win?”  
He has just the answer:

 

“Together”

**Author's Note:**

> English is NOT my first language, so bare that in mind and possibly cut me some slack : )  
> This is my very first marvel fic and first fic i've written in the last three years so if you have any afterthoughts i would love to read them.


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